The English ancestry of Reinold and Matthew Marvin of Hartford, Ct ...

Reinold and Matthew Marvin 99
15^. ; but the custom centuries old of giving 6s. 8d., or some
fraction or multiple thereof, lingered unchanged long after
the coinage of a piece of that value had ceased. These gifts
therefore represented, in the earlier days, the equivalent of
one or another of these gold pieces, and were originally in-
tended simply as mementoes, much as mourning rings were
given later.
There was also a gold coin called a " mark," of Spanish
origin, which had a wide circulation, and in England was
valued at two of the old nobles, or 13s., ^d. In the time of
Henry VIII, especially, the debasement of the coinage of the
realm led to a preference for foreign money, but the great
confusion as to monetary values, particularly in the reigns of
the early Tudors, (which embraces that covered by these
Wills), finally corrected by Elizabeth, makes it very difficult
to compare them with those of the present day. The gift to
Hurre was the equivalent of a " mark."
The relatives named have already been noted, and need no
further comment here.
There was an " endowed school " at Ramsey, which was in
operation not many years ago, and may still continue, but I
have been unable to learn its history. I should have been
glad to find that it was the " scoole " at which the sons of
John were " sett till they canne Wright and Reade Englishe
Well." Similar provisions are made in other Wills in this
volume. There were also endowed schools at Dedham and
Colchester, Essex, and at Ipswich, Suffolk, of considerable
antiquity and repute.